News to Note, September 11, 2010

1. Hobbit Fully Human?

The hobbit of Indonesia is back in the news again, and this time, the spotlight is again on scientists who think the hobbit was fully human.

2. Latest Evolutionist Theory on Life

Whether it’s mica sheets or meteorites (or both), evolutionists have come up with theory after theory—most untestable, all unproven—about how life on earth got started. Here’s the latest.

3. Questioning Life on Mars

There may not be life on Mars, but there’s plenty of life left in life-on-Mars speculation.

4. Creation Museum Publicity from Nationally Syndicated Article

Our Creation Museum, which has been open to the public for more than three years, is still receiving a fair amount of publicity—this time through a nationally syndicated article.

5. A Young-Earth Creationist Raft Trip

Last week we highlighted WORLD magazine’s cover story on a young-earth creationist raft trip. The issue also featured a review of young-earth creationist materials, including several from Answers in Genesis.

6. And Don’t Miss . . .

• Does “creation” require a “creator”? Semantics aside, cosmologist Lawrence Krauss—a vocal critic of Answers in Genesis who protested outside the Creation Museum—declares, “I have never quite understood the conviction, at the basis of essentially all the world's religions, that creation requires a creator,” in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. But is the universe akin to a snowflake or a raindrop, as Krauss argues, “spontaneously appear[ing] based on the simple, elegant laws of physics”? To the contrary, the whole point is that no one, materialist or otherwise, would accept the argument that snowflakes and raindrops (or anything else) simply form out of absolutely nothing. And how did the laws of physics spontaneously happen?
• Did the theistic evolutionist’s god plan for mass extinctions? New research supports (for evolutionists, anyway), the claim that mass extinctions totally change the direction of evolution—“fundamentally chang[ing] the dynamics” of taxonomic “winners and losers.” Therefore, if humans were the ultimate aim of an evolution-embracing god, then that god had to use extinctions to get us here.
• How long does it take for the earth’s magnetic poles to flip—north to south, and south to north? Old-earth geologists, who believe the process occurs every 200,000 years or so, had previously estimated it takes several thousand years per “flip.” But new research, building on a previous discovery, indicates that at least one flip may have occurred in as few as four years. While young-earth creationists don’t necessarily accept all aspects of such dating methods, the finding shows that even old-earthers must accept the possibility of fast events (which could fit into thousands, rather than millions, of years) in earth history.
• What’s the connection between worms and the human brain? We reported on the link—and the alleged evolutionary interpretation—in April 2007 and April 2010. Now, some of the same researchers have thought more about the supposed evolutionary connection between worm “brains” and our own.
• We frequently report on ethical alternatives to embryonic stem cells (which result in the destruction of human embryos). Although those alternatives are often in the form of stem cells “induced” out of adult skin cells, there are other sources, such as umbilical cord blood and—now—a substance from the umbilical cord known as Wharton’s jelly. Researchers at Kansas State University have been awarded a patent for their work revealing and showing how to harvest the latter.
• Because this is the first edition of News to Note published on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, we want to remind readers that the origin of death and suffering in this world is found in Genesis 3. For more information, see An anniversary of death and suffering.

Remember, if you see a news story that might merit some attention, let us know about it! (Note: if the story originates from the Associated Press, Fox News, MSNBC, the New York Times, or another major national media outlet, we will most likely have already heard about it.) And thanks to all of our readers who have submitted great news tips to us. If you didn’t catch last week’s News to Note, why not take a look at it now? See you next week!

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